Writings, Articles and Musings

Occupy Wall Street Meets Acupuncture=Occupuncture

After taking time off from my practice to spend several days doing acupuncture down at Zucotti Park with OWS, I’ve come to several conclusions:

The people camping out down there are overwhelmingly positive, mean well, and are fine with being united by only a vague–but real–agenda: Injustice.

The movement, if it is not to fizzle, needs a leader. Someone who can mobilize the underlying anger of the 99% (and let’s not be so hyperbolic. It’s probably no more than 93.4%)

There is a lot of stress in this town, and it’s not alleviated merely by hanging out in Zucotti Park.

Those drumming circles are annoying. Send them to the steps of Goldman Sachs, and we’ll see how benevolent the Wall Streeters are then.

I was able, and happy, to help people with various complaints, including low back pain (sleeping atop cold hard ground? Gee.); depression; balky knee; insomnia; sniffly cold; diarrhea and stress. In other words, a cross section of the populace. It was also gratifying to treat people who never before hadacupuncture—and who, for the most part, came away loving it. And it’s not as though I proselytize per se. I figure that as more people are exposed to Chinese Medicine, the more they will–in greater numbers–eventually demand that it become a more robust part of the health care menu. That’s what I’d like to believe.

As to the protestors, they are truly a ‘rag tag’ group. Which is not to denigrate them. I believe the same term was always used, proudly, to describe our revolutionary forces as they combatted the British. This scenario is vastly different, of course. Not only is no one shooting at them (yet?), but I believe the powers-that-be have adopted them, not unlike a puppy that happily pees on your rug. The doggy is annoying, but still preferable to confronting the hungry, angry Rottweilers lurking outside your door. At some point you will have to deal with the latter, but for now, you smile and tolerate the mischievous puppy.

So I will go back down this week and do my small bit to support the folks there, with acupuncture, herbs, talk.